Manifestos that do not demand the restoration of Lula's political rights and reparations for the 2016 coup are not democratic.

All democrats in Brazil today are against Bolsonaro, right? Yes, right. Jair Bolsonaro constantly agitates against democratic institutions and, according to his former minister Sergio Moro, He intended to arm the population to promote rebellions. Armed forces are targeting governors and mayors who advocate for social isolation measures against the coronavirus. If that weren't enough, Bolsonaro also explicitly displays his authoritarian leanings through Nazi symbols, such as the "dog whistle" with his... glass of milk, and Literal quotes from the fascist leader Benito Mussolini. 

There is no longer room for doubt – as, indeed, there never was. Bolsonaro represents a concrete threat not only to all Brazilians, but to humanity itself, given Brazil's importance in the global context.

That being said, it is now necessary to question how Jair Bolsonaro became president of the Republic? Did Brazilians, who were identified by international surveys as the happiest people in the world and the most confident about the future, go to sleep democrats and wake up fascists? Or was this process meticulously constructed by sectors of the Brazilian elite who undermined the foundations of democracy and today call for adherence to manifestos of national unity?

All Brazilians with even a modicum of discernment are already against Bolsonaro. But that doesn't mean that every single protest is democratic simply because it criticizes his authoritarian agenda. 

More than ever, it's important to question how we got here. It's crucial to seek the cause and origins of the problem. Without the 2016 coup, which removed the honest President Dilma Rousseff and installed Michel Temer's gang in power, would there be a Bolsonaro? Without the lawfare process that artificially stripped Lula of his political rights before the 2018 presidential election, would there be a Bolsonaro? Everyone knows there wouldn't be.

Therefore, it is impossible to restore democracy in Brazil without healing the country's central wounds. If it is not possible to return the mandate that the elites stole from Dilma through a fraudulent impeachment, then at least they should acknowledge their mistake – and not do so only 50 years too late, as happened with Globo in relation to 1964. If they want democracy back, let them include in their manifesto the restoration of Lula's political rights.

Manifestos that do not demand the restoration of Lula's political rights and reparations for the 2016 coup are not democratic. Some will say that the most urgent thing now is to combat Bolsonaro's authoritarian project and leave the resolution of differences for later. But does it make sense to build a manifesto for democracy without Lula, the leader of the opposition, being called upon to give his opinion on its terms? Or without inviting former President Dilma Rousseff, a victim of a recent coup, to sign it? In my view, no.